Milk powder

Studies in people

• Concern

  Long-term health effects in infants²

  In people, arsenic in contaminated milk powder caused lasting health problems, including cancer and growth changes, decades after infancy.

• Open question

  Puberty hormones in children³

  In healthy prepubescent children, drinking milk with progesterone briefly raised their progesterone levels within hours, but not over days.

• No harm found

  Celiac disease risk in children⁴

  In children who carry celiac risk genes, eating milk powder in early childhood was not linked to celiac disease.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Growth in malnourished children⁵

  In malnourished children, milk powder added to food aid may help weight gain and growth, but this is not yet proven.

• Concern

  Infant exposure to plastics⁶

  Milk powder can contain tiny plastic bits, but babies may get more from bottles and mixing than from the powder itself.

• Concern

  Toxin exceeding legal limits⁷

  Aflatoxin M1 was found in all 51 milk powder samples, and over half had more than the limit set by regulations.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.